


just let me adore you

by liveinfury



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Flirting, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22126693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveinfury/pseuds/liveinfury
Summary: “Wish I could see in myself what you see,” Kirby says.Adam scrunches up his nose. “That’d be gross.”“What?” Kirby asks, confused.
Relationships: Adam Boqvist/Kirby Dach
Comments: 22
Kudos: 154





	just let me adore you

**Author's Note:**

> i'm basic so the title is from Adore You by Harry Styles. 
> 
> these two kill me. this fic is largely inspired by how often they [comment on each other's insta posts](https://live-in-fury.tumblr.com/post/189069057637) and [this glorious pic](https://live-in-fury.tumblr.com/post/188643803137/kirby-dach-and-adam-boqvist-at-hawks-prospect-camp) from prospect camp.
> 
> (timing of things may be inaccurate because it's based on my memory, I couldn't be bothered to do research)

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for Kirby. After the draft, he’s been pulled in every direction.

It doesn’t stop when he’s at the Blackhawks development camp. He’s had meetings with a bunch of people from the front office all day, but now he finally has a chance to go out and skate.

He arrives at the rink early, anxious to get on the ice. When he’s tugging his pants on over his pads, a few players roll into the locker room.

Kirby introduces himself to all of them, only really recognizing the last one. “Boqvist right?”

“Call me Boqer,” Adam says, holding a hand out. He flashes Kirby a smile and yeah, wow that definitely hit him somewhere in his guts.

“Dach,” Kirby replies, grabbing Adam’s hand and pulling him in for a bro-hug.

“Number three, yeah?” Adam asks.

“Yeah, you went, what, seventh?”

“Eighth,” Adam replies, smugly. “It’s not third, but still good.”

“Really good,” Kirby responds, smiling.

“Where do you play?” Adam asks. He walks over to his stall a few down from Kirby’s and starts undressing.

“Saskatoon,” Kirby replies and when Adam gives him a bewildered look, he adds on, “WHL.”

Adam shakes his head. “Too many leagues.”

“You play in Europe?” Kirby asks. He looks over for an answer only to see Adam in boxers, shirtless. Kirby can’t help but let his eyes linger on Adam’s chest. When he finally trails his gaze up to meet Adam’s eyes, he realizes he’s been caught.

“Um, just looking at your tattoos,” Kirby says which is partially true, Adam does have an interesting looking sleeve.

“Yeah?” Adam asks. He scoots down the bench and slides up to Kirby, still clad in boxers. He holds his arm out for Kirby to inspect. “You can see up close.”

Kirby smiles shyly at him and looks down. He listens attentively as Adam starts explaining each tattoo to him.

“They look good on you,” Kirby says when Adam’s done.

“On me?”

“Yeah, not everyone can pull off tattoos,” Kirby says.

Adam scoots back down to his stall. “It’s because I’m hot.”

Kirby laughs as a few more guys walk into the room with raised eyebrows.

***

Kirby feels like he did well in camp, even with how chaotic it was. He ended up spending a lot of his downtime with Adam and Alex Nylander. While the two Swedes clicked immediately, Kirby felt a bigger bond between him and Adam.

They spent nights binging Netflix and teaching each other card games. Adam even started teaching him a few words in Sweedish. This carried over through the week after camp since the Blackhawks convention was then. There was no point in flying back home just to come back for either of them.

They head over to the convention hotel together. Kirby’s nervous as they walk into the holding room where most of the players are waiting before they’re called onto the stage.

“Okay?” Adam asks next to him.

Kirby gives him a queasy smile. “Nervous.”

Adam reaches over and fixes the collar of Kirby’s dress shirt that’s poking out from under the Hawks jersey he was given to wear for the intro.

“Thanks,” Kirby says, glancing up at Adam who’s staring back at him. His hand smooths out the jersey on his shoulder and rests there.

“No problem,” Adam says, hand and gaze unwavering.

Before Kirby can say anything, Jonathan fucking Toews walks up to them and clears his throat.

“Settling in?” Jonny asks them.

Kirby nods meekly in response. Adam takes his hand off of Kirby’s shoulder but doesn’t move any further away.

Kirby met Jonny briefly at the beginning of development camp. It’s a moment Kirby doesn’t like to think about given how unbearably awkward and cringey he was.

“Congrats on the draft, to both of you,” Jonny says, nodding at Adam in acknowledgment.

“Thanks,” Kirby responds, not knowing what else to say.

“You know any good food places in Chicago?” Adam asks, saving Kirby from himself.

Jonny smiles wide and pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Give me your number, I’ll text you a few restaurants.”

Adam casually takes Jonathan fucking Toews’ phone from his hand and enters in his number. Kirby doesn’t think this is ever going to get old.

“He’s not boring you to death is he?” Patrick Kane asks, sliding up to them.

“No,” Kirby says, but that’s all he says so the word hangs there surrounded by silence.

“He’s going to give me food recommendations,” Adam says, saving Kirby again.

Patrick rolls his eyes. “He’ll send you to hippie places, here give me your number I’ll hook you up with all of the best steakhouses in the city.”

It’s Jonny’s turn to rolls his eyes. “Don’t visit them all at once. Steak is only for special occasions.”

“Okay, dad,” Patrick says laughing.

After exchanging numbers, they chat some more until a PR person whisks Jonny and Patrick away.

“What beauties,” Kirby says in astonishment.

Adam stares at Kirby when he responds, “Yeah.”

***

After the convention, Kirby and Adam head their separate ways. He goes back home to Alberta while Adam travels back to Sweden.

They’ll see each other for rookie camp in September, but Kirby still feels a weird discomfort when they part ways.

“I’ll miss you,” Adam says, clinging onto Kirby.

Kirby clings back and whispers, “me too” into Adam’s neck.

“Work hard, yeah?” Adam says. “Gotta play together this year.”

“Fuck, I hope so,” Kirby responds. He sometimes wishes Adam was a forward so they could play on a line together and tear things up, but then he watches him skate as a D-man and knows that’s what Adam was born to do.

The rest of the summer passes by in a flash. Kirby ends up talking to Adam more than his own mom. They text every day and occasionally FaceTime. They have a little inside joke going that Adam started where they snap each other random things with the caption “this reminds me of you.” There’s never a real meaning behind them, but anytime Kirby sends one, Adam sends back a snap of himself smiling, so Kirby’s determined to never stop.

As the weeks go by, Kirby discovers that Adam’s a huge flirt. At first he was taken aback by it, but after getting really close with him, he realizes that’s just who Adam is.

Although sometimes, Adam’s comments really trip him up and leave him stunned for the whole day.

boqer  
  
snap me a selfie  
  
why  
  
miss ur face  
  
fuck off  
  


Kirby snaps him a selfie where his middle finger covers half his face.

boqer  
  
u r so cute  
  
shut up  
  
come make me    
  
r u blushing?  
  
I feel like u r blushing  
  
bet u r even cuter when u r blushing  
  
i hate u  
  
  
  


***

Kirby feels good going into rookie camp right before preseason starts. He’s playing well, but partway through a game against Minnesota he gets checked hard and goes down on his head.

The Doc says he’s got a concussion and rules him out. He likely won’t see the ice for the rest of rookie camp and probably most of the preseason, so there goes his chances at making the team for the regular season.

The only good thing that comes from the concussion is Adam’s hovering. When he’s not traveling with the team or practicing, he’s always in Kirby’s hotel room.

“We leave for Detroit at six tonight,” Adam announces as Kirby opens the door to let him in.

“Cool, have fun-”

“How are you feeling? Any better?” Adam asks, plopping onto Kirby’s bed.

Kirby shrugs. “Kinda the same.”

Adam sighs. “Fucking Minnesota, man.”

“Yup.”

“Need anything?” Adam asks. “You’ve been eating good? Staying off your phone right?”

Kirby joins him on the bed. “You’re more concerned than my own mom.”

Adam gives him a look. “She must not love you then.”

Kirby laughs and punches him in the shoulder. “And you do?” he jokes.

Adam hums in reply. Kirby looks over and sees that he’s got his eyes closed and a small smile on his face.

Kirby smiles back and ruffles Adam’s hair. “Love ya too, asshole.”

Adam sits up grinning. “Wanna watch Tik Toks?”

Kirby groans. “You mean you watch them and narrate what happens to me?”

“Yeah,” Adam says. “So much fun!”

***

Turns out, Kirby still has a concussion when training camp winds down. They end up sending Adam down to Rockford even though Kirby thinks he’s been playing like a beast in preseason.

Kirby anticipates getting sent back to Saskatoon as soon as his concussion clears up. He’s been feeling a lot better lately but still has a few lingering symptoms. He’s a bit surprised when the team keeps him up for the trip to Europe.

He spends most of the time getting close to Nylander and missing the fuck out of Adam. He hadn’t realized how truly dependent he was on him until now.

Alex snaps a picture of him and Kirby walking back to the hotel after dinner. He’s got a hand around Kirby’s shoulders and they’re grinning into the phone.

“Gonna send it to Boqer, get him jealous,” Alex says, tapping away on his phone.

“Don’t be mean,” Kirby says, already feeling guilty that he gets to go on the trip when he won’t even be able to play while Adam has to be in Rockford. He feels doubly guilty since Adam’s Swedish and his family and friends would have been able to swing by and see him play for at least one of the games. “He deserves to be here just as much as us.”

“I’m not rubbing Europe in his face, I’m rubbing us in his face,” Alex says. He tilts his phone and shows Kirby their picture that’s now captioned with “stealing your boyfriend for the week.”

Kirby rolls his eyes. “It’s like two o’clock in Chicago, he’s probably napping.”

Alex’s phone pings with a notification saying he’s got a snap from Adam. He taps it open and they’re greeted with a picture of Adam frowning. His head is resting on a pillow and his hair is sticking up all over the place. The top half of Adam’s bare chest is on display and the caption says “only for the week. I’ll need him back please.”

Alex glances from the phone to Kirby and laughs. “Want me to screenshot it, you can jerk off to it tonight.”

Kirby shoves him. “Fuck off.”

Alex laughs. “Hey, I was just joking. But, um, it’s totally cool with me if that’s a thing, you know?”

Kirby stares at him as if he’s growing a third eye. “If what’s a thing?”

Alex locks his phone and slides it into his pocket. “You and Boqer, no judgement here.”

Kirby’s perplexed look doesn’t go away. “We’re just friends…”

“Cool, cool,” Alex says, nodding. “But if you were more, I wouldn’t care. Or like, if you’re gay or bi, I won’t treat you different, y’know?”

Kirby’s not completely out to everyone, but it’s not like he’s in the closet either. His family and close friends know he’s gay, but besides that, he’ll only tell people if they can be trusted and if it comes up in a conversation. He’s not really ready to be the first active player in any major North American sports league to come out, but he’s decided before going into preseason that if the topic were to come up with his teammates, he’d be okay coming out to them.

“We’re not more than friends,” Kirby says. “But I am gay.”

Alex smiles at him and swings a hand around his shoulder again. “Thanks for trusting me, dude.”

Kirby playfully shoves him off. “Is it that obvious?”

“That you’re gay? No. That you’re into Adam? Yes.”

“I’m not into Adam,” Kirby splutters.

Alex gives him a look.

Kirby sighs as they approach their hotel. “Okay, so I think he’s attractive, that doesn’t mean I like him like that.”

Alex puts his hands up. “Alright, my bad.”

They head towards the elevators, and when Kirby’s sure they’re alone, he leans towards Alex and whispers, “Can you keep it between us though?”

Alex looks shocked that he’d even ask. “Duh, I’m not an asshole.”

“It’s just that I haven’t told anyone on the team yet. Only the front office knows,” Kirby says.

“Not even Boqer?” Alex asks.

“Nah, I don’t feel the need to tell anyone unless it comes up in conversation.”

“And with all the time you guys spend together, it hasn’t come up?”

“Not really, we’ve never talked about girls...or guys for that matter.”

“Huh,” Alex says. “Interesting.”

The elevator pings open and they wait for a family to shuffle out before stepping in.

“What’s interesting?” Kirby asks.

Alex presses the button for the 8th floor. “Nothing,” he says, laughing.

***

A few weeks into the regular season, Kirby is cleared to play. He gets sent down to the AHL for conditioning. If all things go well, the Hawks will call him back up after a few games to see how he fares in the NHL.

Kirby takes an Uber to Rockford and meets with the coaching staff before practice. They let him know he’ll be rooming with Adam while he’s there.

He makes his way to the locker room and settles into his stall, waiting for the rest of the team to get in. As he’s stretching out his legs, he hears someone running into the locker room. “Kirbs!”

Kirby snaps his head at the commotion and sees Adam coming straight at him, arms outstretched.

“Boqer,” Kirby says into Adam’s neck as he crashes into him.

Adam giggles and steps back. He eyes Kirby up and down before saying, “Missed you, man.”

Kirby smiles. “Me too. It’s good to see you in person.”

“You just love me for my body, don’t you?” Adam asks, flexing his biceps.

“You’re so lame,” Kirby says, shoving Adam’s shoulder.

“How do you feel?” Adam asks.

“Great. I felt back to normal last week but they wanted to wait and see before officially clearing me.”

Adam grins. “Good. Be careful out there though, eh?”

“Eh?” Kirby repeats. “Been hanging out with too many Canadians.”

“Nope.” Adam starts walking over to his stall. “Just one Canadian.”

***

A few days pass and Kirby can’t wait to be called up to the NHL. Rockford is fine and it feels great to get back on the ice again and play actual games, but Adam’s driving him crazy.

At first, it’s nice to have someone he’s close to be there with him through this tremulous part of his life, but then Kirby keeps finding himself spending his whole day with Adam and his feelings won’t calm down.

Every time Adam winks at him, smiles his way, or jokingly compliments him, Kirby’s feelings for the guy expand. He thought it was just attraction or lust back when he was in Europe and missed Adam, but now that he’s constantly bombarded by Adam’s presence, he can confirm his feelings for Adam go beyond just physical appearance.

Kirby has no idea what Adam’s sexuality is and doesn’t really want to find out. There’s already a lot going on in his life, adding dating a teammate to this list would just melt his brain.

They’re both lying on Kirby’s bed, watching some lame documentary on Netflix when Adam shifts and rests his head on Kirby’s shoulder.

“We’re not cuddling,” Kirby says, looking down at Adam.

Adam snuggles into him even more. “Looks like we are.”

Kirby sighs in defeat. Obviously he would love to cuddle with Adam, but there are feelings involved on his part and it’s all just overwhelming.

Adam looks up at Kirby, head still resting on his shoulder. “You have really pretty eyes.”

Kirby gapes at him, unable to form a response.

“They’re so blue,” Adam says in awe.

Kirby clears his throat and says, “Is that your favorite color?”

Adam nods with a smile. “It is now.”

Yeah, the Hawks really need to call him up or else he won’t be responsible for shoving Adam up against a wall and sucking his face off.

***

Kirby’s wishes come true because he ends up getting called back late Friday night. The team made it pretty clear to him that he’d only play a handful of games with the Ice Hogs, but the timing of the call up is less than ideal.

They just gotten back to the hotel after a game. He’s in bed watching Netflix with Adam again when he gets the call.

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Kirby says, hanging up with Stan Bowman.

“You’re leaving?” Adam asks, sitting up.

“Yup.” Kirby hops off the bed and starts grabbing his things from around the room.

Adam shouts in happiness. “This is so exciting!”

Kirby pauses from where he’s trying to shove all of his clothes into his suitcase. It would be easier if he folded them, but he’s too anxious to deal with that right now. “I’m gonna puke.”

Adam laughs and walks over to him. “You got this, Kirbs. Trust me,” he says, placing a hand on each of Kirby’s shoulders. Kirby can tell he’s being genuine which makes him swoon.

“You think I’m ready?”

Adam scoffs. “Born ready.”

Kirby shakes his head and laughs.

“But I am gonna miss you,” Adam says, frowning slightly.

“You’ll get called up in no time, dude.”

“I don’t know, it looks like they’ve already decided on their d-men for the season.”

Kirby smiles at him. “Prove them wrong then, eh?”

Adam grins at him. He picks up a pair of jeans Kirby was trying to shove into his suitcase and starts folding them like a sane person.

“Thanks.”

They continue to pack his things. After a while in silence, Adam asks, “They’ll probably put you up in a hotel, right?”

“Yeah. I guess if I make it past the ten games, I’ll have to room with one of the guys or get my own place,” Kirby says.

“You will,” Adam says, confidently.

“Wish I could see in myself what you see,” Kirby says.

Adam scrunches up his nose. “That’d be gross.”

“What?” Kirby asks, confused.

Adam shakes his head, smiling to himself. After a minute he starts biting his bottom lip and says, “So, a room all to yourself.”

Kirby shrugs. “I don’t know, I kinda like having someone around.”

Adam bites down on his lip harder. “You could get a girlfriend.”

So this is it, the first opportunity he’s had to come out to Adam. He’s nervous to say the words because Adam’s quickly become his best friend and it would hurt to lose that friendship. But he can’t keep that part of himself a secret, he’s always told himself he never would. “Well, it would be a boyfriend,” Kirby corrects him.

Adam smiles slightly. “Yeah? Cool.”

Kirby breathes a sigh of relief. “Sorry I never told you, it just hasn’t come up in conversation, y’know?”

Adam nods in understanding. “I get it,” he says and then after a beat, “I’m bi.”

Kirby eyes widen. “You’re bi?”

“Yes, I love boys and girls,” Adam says.

Kirby giggles. “I can’t believe we just came out to each other after being so close for months.”

Adam chokes on laughter as he tries to get out, “I know the names of everyone in your family, but I didn’t know you like dick.”

Kirby laughs harder at that and says, “Is that why you keep making us watch the Thor movies?”

“He’s hot!” Adam shouts.

“I know!” Kirby shouts back.

They’re both hunched over in a laughing fit when he gets a call from his parents congratulating him on the call up.

***

Kirby scores his first goal in his second game in the NHL. It was the most freeing feeling when the puck hit the back of the net. Sure, it wasn’t on his shot and it was just deflected in, but it was still his goal.

After that, he focuses on his own play and stops worrying about points. He knows if he keeps playing how he does, they’ll come to him.

Two weeks pass and he’s playing well. He feels like he really fits in with the team and can’t imagine going back to Saskatoon at this point.

It’s a good thing he can’t imagine it because it’s not going to happen. He gets asked to come in for a meeting with Bowman who lets him know they like how he’s playing and want him to stay with the team this season.

Kirby’s relieved as he leaves the meeting. He’s staying in Chicago and he’s going to help the Hawks make the playoffs. It also starts to dawn on him that he can’t live in his hotel room for five more months. He’s already getting restless in there after just two weeks by himself.

He could get a place, but he doesn’t even know how he could manage to do that during the middle of a season. That seems more like an offseason problem. Also, he doesn’t really have the money for that yet.

Kirby would room with Alex who’s his road roomie and closest friend on the team, but he’s already crashing with Lehner. His other options are DeBrincat or Strome but they just got their own places and both have girlfriends, he’d feel like a dick if he asked them.

That just leaves Seabs. Out of all of the veterans on the team, he’s the closest with Seabs. Kirby awkwardly asks him after the meeting with Bowman right before practice.

Seabs confirms with his wife, Dayna, and agrees to let Kirby stay with them. He gets a room in their basement that’s got it’s own bathroom and mini kitchen.

It’s a great living situation if he’s being honest. He has the same routine as he did in the hotel, only now when he gets bored he can head upstairs and goof off with Seabs’ kids who all love Kirby. It’s an added bonus that they’re well behaved too.

However, his first entertainment option when he’s bored is FaceTiming Adam. Things between them are the same as before they came out to each other. Adam keeps up the stupid flirting and Kirby keeps giving him shit for it.

They’re so close that even Seabs’ kids know who he is.

“Are you talking to Adam again?” Carter asks one night when Kirby’s supervising the kids in their playroom.

“I am,” Kirby responds. “Wanna say hi?”

Carter nods and runs over to where Kirby’s holding out the phone. “Hi Adam! Did you play today?”

Adam laughs and waves hello. “Hey, bud. No, but I played yesterday.”

“Did you score?” Carter asks, excitedly.

“No, I didn’t,” Adam replies.

Carter groans. “No one ever scores around here.”

“Hey,” Kirby says. “I resent that.”

“Me too,” Seabs says, walking into the room. “Remember when I told you defensemen don’t score a lot?”

Carter nods. “But Kirby isn’t a defenseman.”

Adam barks out a laugh. “You’re getting roasted by a five-year-old.”

“I’m six!” Carter shouts, stomping back to his toy cars.

“Boqer,” Seabs greets Adam as he leans over Kirby’s shoulder to get in the view of the call. “How you doing, bud?”

Adam shrugs. “Good, can’t complain.”

“Do you two go a minute without speaking?” Seabs asks.

Kirby rolls his eyes as a response.

“He’s my best friend,” Adam says through the phone.

“So? Duncs is mine and I only talk to him at the rink,” Seabs says.

Kirby gasps. “That’s so sad.”

“No, what’s sad is how dependent you two are on each other. I’m only like that with my wife,” Seabs says, giving Kirby a look. “Whom I’m in love with.”

Kirby moves the phone so that Adam can’t see them and mouths “Fuck you” to Seabs before bringing it back to focus and changing the subject.

***

Kirby’s eyes are barely open when Dayna slides an omelette onto his plate.

“Thanks, mom. Uh, I mean, Dayna,” he says, blushing immediately.

Seabs bursts out in laughter, slapping his knee.

Dayna smiles at Kirby but then glares at Seabs. “Okay, it wasn’t that funny.”

Kirby’s phone rings indicating a FaceTime call. He knows it’s Adam before he even looks at the screen.

“It’s nine in the morning,” Kirby says as soon as he clicks accept.

“I got called up!” Adam yells into the screen.

Kirby jumps out of his chair. “What? You’re not fucking with me, are you?”

“No!” Adam shouts. “I’ll see you at practice today. I’m on my way out now.”

Seabs pulls out his own phone and turns the screen so Kirby can see the Blackhawks twitter page where they announced that Adam’s been called up from Rockford.

“Holy shit, Boq. I told you, I fucking told you you were playing great!”

Adam grins back at him.

Kirby shoves the omelette into his mouth and waits impatiently by the door for Seabs.

“I’m coming, relax,” Seabs says as he approaches the door with his jacket. “You’ll get to see your boyfriend soon enough.”

Kirby rolls his eyes. “Not my boyfriend,” he mumbles.

Once their in the car en route to practice, Seabs clears his throat and taps awkwardly on the steering wheel. “So, you and Adam.”

Kirby waits for him to expand on that. “Yeah?”

Seabs glances over at him. “Is that a thing?”

“What are you talking about?” Kirby asks.

“Are you two, y’know? Together?”

Kirby groans. “Just friends. I keep telling you that.”

Seabs nods. “Okay, but if you were more, I just want you to know that you can tell me.”

“Um, ok.”

“I’m always here for you if you want to talk. You can trust me.”

Kirby understands what Seabs is hinting at. He guesses this is as good a time as any to come out to his veteran teammate who’s also his roommate slash pseudo-dad.

“Well, I’m gay, so.”

Seabs looks over at him and smiles. “Cool.”

Kirby nods. “Cool.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Seabs says.

“Thanks,” Kirby replies. “I don’t mind the guys knowing eventually, but I want to wait a bit to tell them.”

“I totally understand,” Seabs says.

“But just so you know, I’ve also told Nylander and Adam.”

“That’s great, Dacher. They’re good guys.”

Kirby nods in agreement.

“So, are we going to talk about your gigantic crush on Boqer or?”

Kirby reaches over and turns the volume up on the radio.

***

Kirby greets Adam at the rink with a huge hug. They both can’t stop grinning throughout practice. Being around Adam just feels good, Kirby doesn’t know how else to describe it.

They go to lunch after practice with Alex to a fancy deli place near the rink.

“They put you up in a hotel?” Alex asks Adam.

“Yeah,” Adam confirms. “How’s living with Lehner?”

“It’s great. His place has a great view of the city. I get home cooked meals and his kids are fun,” Alex says.

Adam groans. “I miss Swedish food.”

Kirby sits up a bit in his seat. “I can make a mean meatball.”

Adam grins at him. “Just one?”

Kirby rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean. I can cook meatballs.”

“That’s not all Swedish people eat,” Alex says, laughing.

“Well, what’s your favorite Swedish food?” Kirby asks Adam.

“Why?” Adam asks, fluttering his eyelashes. “You gonna cook for me?”

Kirby blushes. “Yeah, why not?”

“Gross,” Alex says, stuffing a forkful of lettuce into his mouth. “Right in front of my salad?”

Kirby blushes even more at the reference while Adam quirks an eyebrow in confusion.

“It was a meme a few years ago,” Alex explains. “It was a whole thing.”

Adam just shrugs. “Okay.”

Kirby stretches his leg out under the table and accidentally touches his calf to Adam’s. He’s about to pull back and apologize but stops when he looks over at Adam and sees him smile and press his own foot closer to Kirby’s.

Alex clears his throat after a minute and Kirby realizes Adam and him were just sitting there staring at each other in silence. He can feel a blush crawl up his neck. He pulls his t-shirt away from his chest as he overheats.

“I’ll be back,” Adam says, getting up. “Bathroom.”

As soon as Adam’s out of sight, Alex snaps his head towards Kirby. “Dude, he totally likes you!”

“No shit, he’s my best friend,” Kirby says, feigning ignorance while his heart beat quickens.

Alex gives him a look. “You know what I mean.”

“He’s just a flirty guy. He’s like that with everyone.”

“I dunno. I don’t see him play footsie with me,” Alex says, leaning back in his chair.

Adam makes his way back to their table so Kirby can’t respond. He doesn’t even know what he would say to that.

***

Kirby’s come to the conclusion that Adam’s flirting with him because he doesn’t have any other options as far as guys go. Kirby is his only outlet.

Kirby, on the other hand, definitely likes Adam, but he knows it’d be better to move on. Liking a teammate is always a recipe for disaster, although when that’s happened to Kirby in the past they’ve always been straight.

That’s why when Kirby finds himself in a conversation with a guy at a Starbucks who seems to be giving him looks, he starts flirting. It’s clear the guy, who introduces himself as James, has no idea who Kirby is, so it’s all harmless.

James looks young, so an added bonus would be finally having a friend his own age in the city that’s not on his team.

“So, do you wanna maybe grab a bite to eat sometime?” James asks as their conversation winds down.

“Sure,” Kirby says. “I’m free tomorrow night.”

“Works for me,” James says. He pulls out his phone and hands it over to Kirby to enter in his number. The contact card has his name as “Kirby - cute guy from starbucks”.

“You think I’m cute?” Kirby asks James with a smirk.

James takes his phone back and scoffs. “You know you’re cute.”

Kirby shrugs. “Just wanted to confirm.”

James laughs and starts to turn away. “Dinner tomorrow? I’ll text you details.”

Kirby nods. “It’s a date.”

***

“How old is he?” Adam asks Kirby.

Kirby shrugs and continues buttoning up his shirt for his date with James. “I think like 20?”

Adam sits up from where he’s been lounging on Kirby’s bed in Seabs’ basement. “You _think_?”

“I just met him.”

“Exactly! That’s why this is stupid,” Adam says.

“What? Am I supposed to just not date?” Kirby asks.

“No, just date guys you know.”

Kirby give him a look. “The only guys I know are on the team.”

Adam flops back onto the bed, defeated.

Kirby sighs and walks over to sit next to him. “Look, maybe he has hot friends I can set you up with.”

Adam rolls his eyes and groans. “I don’t like this.”

“Too bad,” Kirby says. Adam’s being overprotective and it was cute at first but now it’s getting ridiculous.

“Just be safe,” Adam says, sitting back up and wrapping an arm around Kirby’s shoulders. He snuggles into his neck and sighs.

“I will, I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I know,” Adam says. “I still don’t like it.”

“I’ll text you if it goes bad, okay?”

Adam pulls away and lies back on the bed, this time getting under the covers. “Okay. I’ll just stay here until you’re back.”

Kirby has no idea how he’s going to manage getting over this kid.

***

“I heard you had a date the other night,” Alex says, skating up to Kirby during practice. “How was it?”

“Okay, I guess,” Kirby replies. “He seemed cool, but there weren’t any sparks, y’know?”

“Not like there are with you and Adam?”

Kirby shoves him and skates away. Of course James doesn’t compare to Adam, but going into the date, he thought it could possibly lead to more which would eventually help him forget about his feelings for Adam. That clearly didn’t happen. If anything, the date made him appreciate Adam even more.

Alex eventually catches back up to him. “Look, if you don’t like Boqer, I think you should tell him.”

“What are you talking about?” Kirby asks. He looks around to make sure no one can hear them.

“He’s head over heels for you, dude. If you don’t feel the same, then the least you can do is let him know so he can move on,” Alex explains.

“He told you that?” Kirby asks.

“He doesn’t have to. He spent all day yesterday in his hotel room while we were in Vegas.”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.”

“He spent the day holed up in the hotel,” Alex says slowly. “While we were in _Vegas_.”

“Okay, but maybe-”

“No, dude. You don’t get it,” Alex raises his voice. “He’s always talking about you, staring at you, smiling at you. He likes you.”

“Are you sure he’s not just-”

“Why is this so hard for you to believe?” Alex says, clearly frustrated.

“He’s Adam,” Kirby says. “It would be too good to be true.”

“Well, then it’s too good,” Alex says. He taps Kirby on the leg with his stick and skates away.

Kirby looks around until his gaze finds Adam who’s staring back at him. When their eyes meet, Adam quickly looks away.

 _Oh._ So maybe the signs were all there and Kirby’s just late on the come up.

***

Kirby borrows Seab’s car and heads over to Adam’s hotel later that night. He barges into the room when Adam opens the door. “Get dressed.”

“What?” Adam asks, rubbing his eyes. He definitely just woke up from a nap. He yawns as he scratches his stomach, shirt riding up.

Kirby lets his eyes linger on the exposed skin for a second before going over to Adam’s dresser and throwing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt at him. “Dress warm. We’re going out.”

Adam catches the clothes. “It’s snowing outside.”

“That’s why I said dress warm,” Kirby says.

“Where are we going?” Adam asks.

“Out.”

“But where?”

“Just out, okay? On a date,” Kirby says quickly, pushing Adam towards his bathroom. “Get dressed.”

“A date with me?” Adam asks, voice muffled by the door.

Kirby ignores him and waits until he comes out dressed and puts on his jacket.

“Let’s go.”

Kirby carefully drives them over to the lakeshore. He parks in a lot close by and grabs a backpack from the back of the car.

“Whoa,” Adam says, getting out of the car. “Pretty.”

The snow is coming down in large flakes, landing deftly on the lake. The sky is a dark hue of orange that glints off the frozen water. They make their way closer to the shore.

“What are we doing here?” Adam asks.

“I made something for you.”. He walks them over to a bench and opens up his backpack, pulling out two containers of meatballs in gravy.

Adam chuckles. “Meatballs?”

“Yeah, Nyls got me a recipe from his mom and Dayna helped me make them earlier,” Kirby explains.

“You cooked?” Adam asks, he looks shocked.

“I told you I can cook,” Kirby says. He hands over Adam his container and a spoon. “Give me your honest opinion.”

Adam dives right in and moans.

“Good?” Kirby asks.

“So good,” Adam says, mouth full of food. “Reminds me of home.”

Kirby celebrates internally. “Great. Let me know what else you’d like me to make. Maybe Jansson's temptation?”

“Janssons frestelse,” he corrects Kirby. He puts his food down. “Maybe we can cook together?”

“I’d like that,” Kirby says.

They devour the rest of the food in silence. After finishing, Kirby loads the empty containers back into his backpack.

“Thank you,” Adam says, standing up. “That meant a lot to me.”

“Anytime,” Kirby says, standing up as well.

“So was that it?” Adam asks. “You wanted us to eat meatballs together in the snow by the lake?”

Kirby can’t help but laugh. “No, that’s not it. I wanted to tell you something. I thought this would be the perfect place to do it.”

Adam smiles softly and shoves his hands in his jacket pockets.

“So, um,” Kirby starts. He clears his throat. “I-wow, didn’t think this would be so scary.”

Adam takes a step closer and patiently waits for him to continue. Kirby sets his shoulders and tries again. “You’re my best friend, I guess that’s why this is so scary.”

“I’m listening,” Adam says, pushing up and standing on his tiptoes, hands still crammed in his pockets.

“I like you. I have feelings for you,” Kirby rushes out.

Adam drops back down on his feet. “Yeah? For real?”

Kirby bites down on his lip and nods.

Adam closes the space between them and crushes Kirby in a hug. “You’re not joking, right?”

“No, I wouldn’t do that,” Kirby reassures him. “I like you. A lot.”

Adam pulls back from the hug but stays close to Kirby. “Me too.”

Kirby swallows. “You too what?”

“I like you too,” Adam says. “I thought that was obvious.”

“I can be pretty slow,” Kirby says. “Nyls had to tell me.”

“I flirt with you all the time,” Adam says. “Do you think I just go around calling everyone hot?”

“I thought it was just because I was the only gay guy you knew in Chicago,” Kirby says.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Adam asks, brows furrowed.

“I-it’s...well I thought I was the only one you could hit on safely,” Kirby struggles to explain. It made sense in his head but now that he’s trying to form it into words, he’s realizing how dumb it sounds. “Nevermind.”

“It hurt watching you go on that date,” Adam confesses.

Kirby cringes. “Sorry, I thought it would help me get over you.”

“But I want you under me,” Adam says with a smirk.

“Wha-I-you,” Kirby sputters as he feels a giant snowflake land on his cheek. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“I can’t flirt with my boyfriend?” Adam asks, innocently. He reaches over and wipes the quickly melting snowflake off of Kirby’s cheek and then lets his hand rest there.

Kirby swoons. “Wow, you’re smooth.”

Adam smiles fondly at him. “Can I kiss you?”

Kirby groans. “So smooth,” he whispers as Adam’s lips touch his.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](https://live-in-fury.tumblr.com/)


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